10/09/26 - Powick Hospital

Church, Civil War and the MadhouseThis month's History West Midlands Podcast is about Powick Hospital. Growing up in Worcestershire in the 70s, this was often referenced. Any odd behaviour, however mild, would be met with "You'll end up in Powick".Interesting podcast. I had no idea of the scale or the fact that each authority was responsible for creating a "madhouse".Powick Mental Hospital began life in 1852 as the Worcester City and County Pauper Lunatic Asylum, built as a direct consequence of the Lunacy Act and County Asylums Act of 1845. These Acts required counties and county boroughs to provide accommodation for paupers suffering from mental illness, rather than leaving them in workhouses or private madhouses. Worcester took a little persuading before finally agreeing to build its own institution at Powick, where the first patients arrived on 12 August 1852. Originally designed for around 200 patients, the asylum expanded considerably and eventually accommodated around 1,000. It…